Girls' Generation And The Finality Of Holiday Night

Sudden goodbyes can hurt, quite deeply in fact. Being blindsided can feel unfair, leaving us to deal with the shattered pieces of our emotional processes, but the most painful goodbye is the agonizing long one, the departure that is inevitable, that you know is coming, it festers in your heart and mind as the moments go by, intimately aware of the grief that is coming that will have to be dealt with whether you think you’re ready to contend with it or not. We have the time to prepare, but can never be fully ready for the impending cavalcade of feelings.

But what about the rare cases where both aforementioned types of goodbyes play out, hitting you from both sides of the mental equation?

Girls’ Generation mean a great deal to me. Along with Death Note they were the catalysts for my interest in international art/entertainment over the  majority English language works I had been consuming my entire life to that point. It wasn’t simply down to the new language and culture that they helped expose me to. While that was admittedly a sizable aspect of my gravitation, what kept me around was how genuine and real they were (and still are) as public figures. A completely different interpretation of “celebrity” than I had ever been exposed to. Honest humility, appreciation,  borderline inhumane degrees of work ethic and precision (which is a can of worms I will not be discussing here), and a quirkiness that resonated strongly with me. The 2011 fan meet in New York City being the culprit of novelty that ingrained its hook so deeply in my heart, being blissfully unaware of the absurdities of Korean pop the way I am now, I was only too happy to accommodate. I’m still as melancholic of the idea of “celebrity” as a 2000s Fall Out Boy song, don’t worry, but this still doesn’t feel like your typical unhealthy parasocial relationship to me. Its happiness with no strings attached. A rare sanctuary in the information age. Never verging on unhealthy obsession, just a high level of appreciation for what they provide. Making me feel like I’ve been on the ride with them for longer than I really have.

As of writing this most personal of essays, Girls’ Generation have not officially disbanded and probably will never considering SM Entertainment does not usually do so with any of their groups. They will always be a collective unit in the hearts and minds of all who considers themselves a fan. They’re still spending time together, they’re still celebrating birthdays together, regardless of what their contracts say, they’re linked in history and to each other from now on. 

However as we are approaching 4 years without anything from the collective group (even if solo work is still being done by certain members) I feel stronger in my convictions that it is unlikely we will ever see another release from them ever again. I hope I’m dead wrong in that regard and that this piece will age poorly, but it leads be to believe my suspicion that Holiday Night was meant to be their finale.

We knew in the lead-up to release that Girls’ Generation had contract renewals coming up, but a decent amount, myself included, assumed that to be nothing more than a formality. They would either all sign back up with their label SM Entertainment, or all let their contracts run out and see where their careers took them. But I did not consider the third option: only a fraction of the members return on contracts whereas the others are released and allowed to move on. As you may expect, that led to some difficulties come album promotion time. The album was set to release on August 7, 2017 while their contracts were set to run out a mere week later. When Kpop groups promote new albums they are generally given a 2 week period to perform on music shows, appear on variety shows, and give interviews as a group. Usually a source of great amusement and fun. Considering this was Girls’ Generation’s 10th anniversary as a group the expectations were high. I mean, who wouldn’t expect grandeur, pomp, and circumstance for one of the most important girl groups in Korean music history? However due to the aforementioned contract renewals and issues that might create, Girls’ Generation were ultimately given only a week to do the rounds. It was a remarkably rushed affair. For such an important group of the industry it was so brief it was almost criminal.

So much of the official details are left to speculation and conjecture as it’s not like SM (or any company) are particularly transparent with anything that happens behind their doors (if I’ve got any information wrong at any point in this piece please feel free to correct me!) but in my estimate, it’s hard not to imagine that the girls were aware that the window of opportunity might’ve been closing. As three members decided to strike it out on their own after their contracts had officially run out. We knew it was coming, but at the same time, we couldn’t have expected the uncertainty that would follow.

I think that feeling of uncertain future is a common motif that plays throughout the album, particularly in it’s composition and, in terms of the music videos, a reflective and proud spirit that permeates not only Holiday Night as a whole, but arguably their careers even to this point.

With the exception of Girls Are Back, a dominating opening number that itself warns of broken hearts and noise makers whilst proudly proclaiming that the titular statement is true at the moment. What ultimately transpires is a track-list of songs that are congruent and varied. 

The bouncy melodies of Holiday are contrasted to the 80s inspired synth-pop dance beats combined with the documentary style music video in which each member is given time to reflect on the decade spent in the group. There’s an undercurrent of exhalation to the song and interviews that accompany. Fan is a track that is similar in the way that it almost feels like a thank you letter signed, sealed, and delivered by each of the girls themselves, it’s usage of string harmonization feeling straight out of Kpop from the 2000s. One Last Time being the heaviest indication yet, it ultimately comes across to me as a venting of sadness and grief. That they still felt like there was so much more they could have done even though they truly left everything on the table, for their supporters and themselves. It’s in moments like these I found it more hard to believe that the track placement was as meticulous as it’s ever been for them.

The consistent feeling of conclusion comes to a resolution with the album closer, it’s hard to interpret it as anything other than a swan song at this point. Light Up The Sky has a foreboding sense of finality about it. Being a delicate mix of collective pride and melancholic nostalgia it feels hard to interpret this as anything other than a last call for the decade. A grand swell of appreciation and devastation that is closing the novel of Girls’ Generation. For a significant amount of time at the very least.

It’s why I’ve come to convince myself that Holiday Night may just be the best Girls’ Generation album to ever release. It’s tonally congruous to what their lives were at the time, one might even interpret it as a diary of sorts, just far less personal to the audience at large naturally.

Still waiting on that Sooyoung authored book about the offstage incidents we never got to hear about…

Change is difficult, it’s constant, it never gets any easier no matter what position we approach it from or if we’re even given that time to process what it entails and looks like. Whether you’re a international superstar or a regular joe who likes his joe regular, upheaval in all of its forms is something that is applicable to all of human kind. Mastering it feels like an impossibility, especially those who are constantly in emotional tatters like myself. But goodbyes mean we have something to look back on fondly. And those are the prevailing memories I want. I don’t want to speak for you, but I think you might want them too.